Left 4 Dead
by Keystaff Master
Summary: The four have been left in a destroyed city with little ammunition, few weapons, and little chance for survival. These four survivors must fight for their lives or else be Left 4 Dead...
1. Introduction

**Left 4 Dead:**

**Introduction**

Four putrid and rotting fingers protruded from the pile of fly and maggot ridden flesh. A single fly that had perched itself over the empty thumb socket was startled into flight by the sounding of a voice.

"Hold up," the voice echoed as a flashlight fell upon the rotting pile. As lightning flashed through the darkened alleyway, an old, white bearded man in a green army jacket and hat crouched -his assault rifle in hand- and inspected the corpses more closely. Bill wiped his finger through the goo and rubbed it between his finger and thumb examining the consistency. "Ain't never seen anything like this before..."

"Jeez," another gruff voice came as Bill's eyes shifted to his right with a scowl, "Don't let that stop you from smearing it all over yourself." His was a rough and tumble biker-type, with a leather vest and pants and bare arms covered in tattoos. His head was shaven and he had a simple goatee. Francis grinned, loosening his grip on his automatic shotgun. Bill stood, wiping his bile covered hand over Francis' vest.

"They're changing," he said simply, before stepping over the rotted pile. Francis' expression turned grotesque.

"Goddamn it, Bill!" he shouted, as he wiped it off, "Oh, it stinks!" The business man next to him chuckled under his breath. He was a younger black male wearing a messed up collared shirt, loosened red tie, and brown dress pants. Louis looked like he'd just recently stepped from his cubicle for the first time.

A weak whimper suddenly sent chills up the four's spines. As they searched for the source of the cry, Bill's eyes fell upon a metal door to his three o'clock.

"Someone's still alive!" said Zoey from behind Louis and Francis. The young woman had slightly tanned skin and wore her hair back in a grizzled ponytail. Her track jacket was red, while her jeans were a faded black. Her cute face was bruised here and there, however. Bill opened the door to the darkness within, with Zoey close-by with her duel pistols at the ready. As the two lingered on the edge of darkness, Bill spoke.

"Over there," he said, motioning Zoey to turn on her flashlight. She did so, flipping on the light she had attached to her left pistol. The soft crying still rang from deep within the blackened room. Cautiously, Bill stepped in with his assault rifle at the ready; Zoey close behind.

"Hello?" Zoey called sheepishly into the dark. A more cough-like whimper was the response. She called again. As her light fell upon the bloodied tile and crudely stacked boxes, the sight of a pale, crying girl began to come into view.

"It's okay," she began, the figure gradually being revealed by her raising light, "We're gonna-" Bill quickly pushed Zoey's pistol at the ground and extinguished the light.

"Lights off!" he asserted forcefully. As the light from the outside burning dumpster began to fill the room, the pale figure sat crying before the two.

Outside, Louis stood guard with his single SMG. A sudden growl caught his attention, he turned down the alleyway as a mob of distant figures began to race wildly through the fog.

"Oh, shit!" he shouted, as Francis began to unload buckshots from his shotgun into the charging swarm, "Shit! Shiiit!" Louis rushed into the room that Bill and Zoey had inspected.

"They're coming!" he shouted as his flashlight accidentally fell upon the pale figure. The pale girl turned with her eyes burning red and she released a blood curdling cry, "What the?!"

Zoey quickly rose to her feet, "Run like hell!" Bill unloaded a few shots as he backed out of the room behind Zoey and Louis, slamming the door shut. Louis hastily braced himself upon the door as the Witch dented it from the inside. With one more punch the door was penetrated and her grotesquely clawed hand burst from the other side. Louis screamed in shock as he began to unload his SMG into the Witch's cranium through the opening. As the crowd reached the four Francis, Zoey, and Bill shot wildly into the coming crowd, shoving them back and unloading their bullets into the Infected civilians. More shadows dashed their way up the alley. Louis continued to pour bullets into the girl, shouting wildly.

"How do you like that?!" Louis yelled firing his SMG. Finally, the Witch succumbed do her wounds and collapsed. As Louis joined the firing squad against the hoard, "Stick together!" Francis shouted. A tall figure stood over the guardrails of a nearby fire escape looking down upon the four. With a disgusting, choking cough it spat its long, tentacle-like tongue into their group, wrapping around Bill and pulling him from the others. Bill shouted as he was dragged away and constricted by the Smoker, which quickly alerted Francis.

"Hang on!" he shouted as he span around and unloaded a buckshot into the creature, which caused it to burst into smoke. Bill fell to the ground as Francis rushed over to help him up. Meanwhile, Louis and Zoey were being overtaken by another swarm of Infected.

"Uh, guys?!" she called as she fired her pistols. Francis motioned for Bill to raise as he turned to his immediate left and then right, sending two different zombies to their death. He smiled as Bill stood up.

"Marry Christmas," he said lamely. More and more Infected filled the alley as Francis and Bill rejoined the gunfire. Though they were being shot down one by one, the four were beginning to be overtaken. Zoey reached into her pocket pulling forth a modified pipe bomb.

"Fire in the hole!" she shouted as she chucked the bomb down the alley. The beeping that it had been modified with gained the instant attention of the rushing zombies; who began to swarm and claw at the bomb. The four quickly took cover as the swarm was taken out in a burst a blood as the pipe bomb exploded. The blast caused Louis to stumble, but not draw his away from the helicopter that zoomed overhead. As its light passed overhead he shouted, following it out into the street as a hooded figure leaped across the rooftops.

"We're over here! We're not infected!" he shouted as he ran into the street. However, the chopper took no notice and flew on. "Dammit," Louis kicked in disappointment. A figure hung from the corner of the building behind him. In an instant it launched itself at Louis, pinning him down and beginning to tear at his torso with his razor-sharp claws. Louis' SMG was knocked from his hands as the Hunter pounced him and he could only block helplessly with his arms as it clawed. Zoey tackled the special Infected, causing it to stumble. She quickly followed up, shooting her dual pistols into its chest viciously. Louis span around, whipping out his pistol and shot the Hunter directly in the head. The downed Infected fell upon a car, setting off its alarm. As the ringing filled the streets, Bill rushed up to the vehicle.

"Oh, this is gonna get bad..." he sighed, readying his assault rifle. As huge, disfigured shadows fell upon a distant building, the screams and grunts of the surrounding hoard signified their coming. The four readied themselves as the zombies slowly began to surround them; climbing the fence behind them, streaming from the alleyways, turning the corner. Within moments the Survivors had been surround. However, far down the road, a violent roar filled the street. Suddenly, a car was flipped down the street, wiping out Infected and crashing through the fence behind them. The hulking Tank crushed its way through the swarming zombies, knocking them to and fro and slamming them into the ground. The four began to back away from the charging hulk.

"Run or shoot?" Louis asked nervously. The Tank was just before them, smashing its way to the front lines of the swarm. "Run or shoot?!" Louis shouted, clutching his SMG.

"Both!" Bill answered beginning to unload his assault rifle into the charging beast. Louis quickly followed suit as the Survivors fell back into the alleyway across the street. As they fired wildly upon the Tank. They rushed down the alley and turned a corner, taking out what zombies they could as they ran from the hulking Infected. Louis looked up, finding a glimmer of hope.

"Get to the roof!" he shouted, pointing at the fire escape. Francis stopped, urging the others to go as he began to unload his shotgun into the oncoming hoard. The other three reached the ladder. Bill and Louis covered Zoey as she rushed up the ladder from the opposing zombies coming down the alley.

"Come on! Come on!" Francis taunted, waiting for the Tank to turn the corner. As it did he began to unload his gun furiously. However, it simply smashed its way through the common Infected in front of it and backhanded Francis into the wall. Bill turned, watching as the Tank lifted its huge fists to crush his fellow Survivor. The Vietnam veteran rushed in with his assault rifle, shooting the Tank in the face and disrupting his attack. As Francis crawled out of the line of fire, the Tank quickly retaliated and swung its arms right. Bill ducked under the attack and the hulking Infected smashed through the brick wall beside him. As Louis and Zoey fired from above, however, the Tank tore a chunk of concrete from the wall and chucked it up the fire escape. Louis narrowly dodged the slab and it just missed Francis as he climbed the ladder. Bill backed up to the ladder and narrowly missed being struck by an Infected. Zoey killed it with a head shot from her pistols. Bill looked up.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Zoey cried as she unloaded on the Infected below. While Bill climbed the ladder, the Tank was just behind him. Vehemently it leaped for the escape, just missing Bill on his way up. However, the fire escape began to give way as the Tank desperately attempted to climb after the Survivors. Bill made it to the second level as his companions fired from above. Finally he reached the top, however, the Tanks next attempt to climb finally pulled the escape from its bolts and the metal staircase began to collapse. Bill just managed to climb the ledge of the building, as Zoey remained on the escape firing at the up and coming Tank. With one final go, the Tank grabbed the floor on which Zoey stood and began to take down the whole staircase for good. As her back was bashed on the railing, Zoey dropped her second pistol. Desperately, she ran up the sloping platform and leaped towards the roof.

"Francis!" she shouted gravely, realizing she wouldn't make the jump. As luck would have it, Francis grabbed her hand and pulled her up; with not a moment to spare. The Tank roared as he fell to the ground with the fire escape collapsing upon him and crushing him underneath. Louis supported Zoey as Francis pulled her over. All of them were panting heavily and gasping for their breath. As the sat and collected themselves, Louis brightened considerably.

"We made it... I can't believe me made it!" he turned to his companions with hope. Bill sat before him on a step below, lighting up a cigarette.

"Son, we just crossed the street," Bill said, sitting for a moment to enjoy his cigarette. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and released the smoke. "Let's not throw a party 'til we're out of this city..." Bill stated solemnly as he rose.

The four Survivors arose from their seats and under the blue tarp that sheltered part of the roof. Hopelessly sprawled over the roof of the building were the letters "SOS". The four had been left in a city crawling with Infected, with little to no hope of survival. With little ammunition and no contact with the outside world; the four Survivors had been **Left 4 Dead**...

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**A/N:** I hope this has intrigued you to read on. This is the introduction to my Left 4 Dead novelization. I'll be covering the game all the way from No Mercy to Blood Harvest (I'll even cover Crash Course) and will connect all campaigns in Left 4 Dead into one single narrative. Everything in the story will be based off the game and most of the things the Survivors will say will be taken from their actual programed voice clips. I hope you'll enjoy what is to come because there is a lot of ground to cover for our four Survivors!


	2. No Mercy: The Apartments

**The Apartments**

"To anyone who can hear this, proceed to Mercy Hospital for Evacuation. Repeat, proceed to Mercy Hospital for Evacuation," came a voice over a boom-mike. As the violent winds tore the blue tarp from over the Survivors' heads, the chopper flew over them and rose into the foggy skies. The four could only look on as their only chance for escape took off towards the ominous shadow that was Mercy Hospital.

**NO MERCY**

"**Curing the Infection... One bullet at a time"**

"Well, looks like we're going to the hospital," Zoey sighed as she loaded her new second pistol she found on a nearby corpse of a lost Survivor. Bill reached into a nearby ammo can, reloading his assault rifle.

"We can take the subway tunnels to the hospital," he began turning to his companions and loading his gun, "there's a Red Line station not far from here." Francis scoffed at the idea, priming his newly found pump action shotgun in the spirit of his lost automatic.

"I hate subways," he protested. Louis locked and loaded his SMG as he turned to the others with a grin.

"I'm cool with that," he replied to Bill's plan. The four Survivors gathered at the roof door, looking to one another nervously as they were all to sheepish to open the door. Zoey turned to Francis.

"Mind getting the door?" she asked politely. Francis curled the corner of his lip and reached for the door. As he turned the knob, he allowed the door to simply fall upon and reveal the bloodied staircase. As the four Survivors slowly descended the stairs, Bill encouraged them to stay alert.

"Eyes and ears, people. Eyes and ears..." the Vietnam vet said as he turned the corner with his companions close behind. The four stepped into the yellow wallpapered room, it was a kitchen. Blood splatters covered parts of the wall and a few stray bodies lined the entrance to the roof access. Slowly and cautiously the Survivors made their way through, heading through the living room, and down the stairs. As they wondered through another _seemingly_ empty apartment they began to question where all the Infected were.

"Where are they?" Louis wondered as they made their way across the apartment and towards the adjacent hole in the wall. Francis stroked his goatee in a cocky fashion.

"Probably heard I was coming," the grizzled man nodded.

"They probably smelt you," Zoey retorted as they passed into the next room.

"Haha, very funny. You should do stand up," Francis scowled, his shotgun at the ready. Bill's arm suddenly brought his fellow Survivors to a stop.

"Watch out," he said taking a puff of his cigarette. Before them was huge hole in the floor, possibly where the ceiling had given way from beneath for whatever reason.

"We going down?" Louis asked.

"Ain't no other way," Bill shrugged. As the four lowered themselves down they found them selves finally on the bottom floor of the apartment complex. As they searched for an exit they were surprised to find an army Hummer had lodged itself in the front door; effectively blocking the exit. Bill sighed as he gazed upon the vehicle.

"Damn Hummers. When is the military gonna' realize the Jeeps did just fine?" the vet reminisced as Francis walked passed him.

"I hate Jeeps," he said as Bill gave him the stink eye. As the four Survivors exited the apartment complex through the backdoor and into the alleyway they found themselves upon a familiar sight. Underneath a large pile of twisted metal and brick lay the damned corpse of the Tank. From the fallen staircase the hulks head jutted out, revealing it contorted face to the four. Its eyes had shrunk into the back of its head and its lower jaw was beginning to be assimilated into the muscle mass of his pectorals. It much more resembled a gorilla than an Infected human being. Francis stepped up to the beast with his lip curled and gave it a firm boot to the face.

"Ugly S.O.B., huh?" he observed out loud. Louis walked up to it and observed it more closely.

"Can't believe we took it down," the former business man said in disbelief. Zoey just scratched her nose and smiled.

"See? Just comes to show you; we're awesome together!" she said in a rather peppy tune. Francis nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah, I suppose having you guys around isn't too bad. Not like I couldn't handle these pussies on my own though," he said in a cocky manner.

"Speak up, Francis, your voice got all muffled from being so far up your ass!" Bill rebutted from halfway down the alleyway as he moved towards the street. Louis and Zoey chuckled at the shot, while Francis scoffed and followed on.

As they moved into the streets they were greeted once more by the ominous and -eerily- empty streets of Fairfield. Fairfield, that was right; it was the name of the city. Once it was a thriving metropolis in the heart of Pennsylvania. Now it was nothing but a zombie-ridden wasteland that was crumbling from the ground up. What was once their home had no turned into their coffin. The streets that the Survivors had once walked during their day-to-day lives had now become a gauntlet of decaying civilians and mutated freaks. Between the calm night air, the glimmering full moon, and the quiet streets; just for a moment, Fairfield was like it once was... peaceful. Though, it wasn't likely to last for long. After walking cautiously through the city streets they came upon their destination.

"We made it!" Louis announced as the Survivors' sights fell upon the entrance to the Subway. As a sigh of relief passed through them the -former- manager quickened his pace towards the entrance. Zoey wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as she lowered her pistols.

"What a relief, I can't believe we got all the way to the Subway without running into a single zombie," Zoey thought aloud. Bill put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat.

"Don't let your guard down just yet, Zoey," the vet reminded her as they followed Louis to the stairs. As he came upon the arch of the Subway entrance Louis slowed his pace and observed the sign beside it. It was a board of wood with a white house with an "X" painted on it; it meant a Safe House was nearby. Louis pumped his fist and turned to his companions with excitement.

"Safe House up ahead!" he alerted them as he turned back towards the stairs. However, as he flipped around, a huge grotesque figure arose from the stairway. An obese and gluttonous zombie stood in the path of the Survivors. Before Louis could even react the creature unleashed a stream of green bile from its gaping maw. Louis stumbled in surprise as his vision was clouded by the goo of the Boomer.

"Louis!" Zoey cried before shooting the zombie as she came to his side. The obese zombie erupted in a burst of green goo as it blew up on the spot. The force of the biological explosion sent Louis stumbling back further. He came into contact with a nearby abandoned car and, subsequently, its alarm went off. The Survivors' hearts skipped a beat as they all turned to Louis. He quickly wiped the bile from his eyes and wiped his face nervously.

"Oh, shit!" he said under his breath. The screams of Infected echoed down the city streets. The sound of approaching zombies was eminent as the Survivors collected themselves before the alarming car. Francis quickly primed his shotgun.

"Fantastic!" the biker sighed. Bill turned to his companions and gave his orders.

"Look, we can't let this car keep going off; the alarm _has_ to be stopped. Who here can do it?" Bill asked as he looked between them. Zoey shook her head negatively and Francis only huffed sarcastically. However, Louis scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I think... No, no, I can. I can do it!" he announced. Bill nodded and smashed the car window, opening the car.

"Get it done!" he told him as Louis entered the vehicle.

"They're coming!" Zoey shouted as the Infected civilians began to scale the fence to their left and come up the street behind them. Bill began to fire at the zombies as they climbed the fence, while Zoey and Francis took aim at the zombies down the street. Within the car Louis ripped off the compartment door underneath the steering wheel, revealing the jumble of various color coded wiring. Louis cursed under his breath as he wiped his forehead nervously. He began to shuffle through the wires and get his bearings. Meanwhile, outside the car, the Infected were scaling the fence to fast for Bill to handle and Zoey and Francis were losing ground in the street. It wasn't long before they were upon them.

"Shit!" Zoey cursed as she climbed the car. Francis unloaded his shotgun into a couple of charging Infected, however, he was out of shells and out of time to reload. Instead, he quickly resorted to bludgeoning the bastards to a pulp with the butt of his gun. Bill fell back against the trunk of the car as the alarm overloaded his hearing.

"Louis! Quick dragging your ass and stop the alarm!" he shouted, unloading his assault rifle into the charging hoard and reloading.

"I'm moving as fast as a can!" Louis retorted, ripping through the various wires erratically. However, his attempts were thwarted by a tentacle that had wrapped around his neck through the passenger window. The Smoker was stationed in the second floor window of a nearby window and was slowly choking the life out of the manager as he was pulled against the passenger window. Zoey flipped around after hearing Louis' muffled cries and eyed the Smoker above. She quickly focused her fire into the window and shot the legs out from under the creature, sending it falling to its death. Louis quickly regained his composure and removed the tentacle. While Francis had managed to reload and continue firing, Bill had resorted to crouching atop the vehicle along with Zoey. While the two were quite capable of observing their surroundings they were completely unable to anticipate an attack from above. A clawed figure grasped the corner of a nearby roof before lunging an incredible distance and pinning down Zoey atop the car. As the Hunter began to scratch and claw, Bill quickly took notice and turned to aid her. However, the Hunter would not allow his interference and hastily slashed him across his chest, knocking him from the car. As the vet landed on the ground with a thud. As the hooded Infected once more turned his attention to the helpless girl below him, Zoey cried out.

"Louis!" she cried. He popped his head out of the car window and took notice of the Hunter atop her. He reacted quickly, whipping out his pistol and shooting the Hunter right in the forehead. Zoey shoved the dead predator off her and regained her composure. As Bill's cries of help called out, Francis quickly took notice.

"Don't you quit on me yet, old man!" he shouted as he burst into the crowd of Infected that began to swarm his downed ally. He shoved the creatures away before firing upon them with his shotgun. The buck shot easily took off the head of one and easily incapacitated the rest. Francis reached down his hand, which Bill quickly took.

"Watch your own ass so I don't have to!" the biker said as he pulled the Vietnam vet to his feet. As Bill stood he scrambled to shoot the oncoming zombie that was behind Francis, scoring a bull's eye on its forehead. As the biker quickly turned to deal with its followers Bill called to Louis.

"Louis! Shut it off!" the vet ordered. Louis inside the car had given up on the mess of wires and promptly pulled out his pistol; shooting the counsel. The alarm slowly died off as the other Survivors continued to hold off the hoard. As Louis exited the vehicle and joined the fight with his SMG, Zoey cried out in frustration.

"Why are they still coming?!" she screamed as she shot the arm off an oncoming Infected. As he shoved off a zombie and followed up with a burstfire from his SMG, Louis wiped off some of the Boomer's bile that had worked its way back into his eyes. Bill thought for a moment.

"It's not just the car alarm," he shouted in a burst of insight, "The Boomer's shit is whats attracting them!" With that Louis tensed up.

"Forget this! Get to the Safe House!" Francis shouted, blasting the head off another zombie. Without words the others agreed and Zoey and Louis quickly ducked back into the entrance to the Subway; while Bill and Francis covered them. As they descended the stairs they were disappointed to find that the stairway down was blocked off by rubble. However, a large hole in the wall beside it led into a nearby storage room. As the entered it they were relieved to find the Safe House on the other side. As Bill finished off a small oncoming of Infected he motioned for Francis to follow suit. Together they descended the stairway behind Louis and Zoey, still firing on the oncoming hoard as they did so. However, as the numbers of Infected suddenly seemed to double they abandoned their attempts to hold them off and quickened their pace. Louis and Zoey passed through the door of the Safe House and took refuge inside.

"Come on guys!" Zoey called, shooting the zombies at her ally's heels with her double pistols. Louis stuck his hand out the door and motioned for them to hurry.

"Get in! Get in!" he shouted as the growing hoard burst through the wall behind them. After Bill and Francis passed through the doorway, the biker shouted to his companion.

"Lock the goddamn door!" Francis shouted at Louis. The suit quickly slammed the metal door shut, but not without severing the arm of an Infected attempting to break in. Louis backed up and Zoey promptly knocked a metal shelf near the door over it to barricade it. After the cries of the hoard faded away the four caught their breaths and mended their wounds.

"Let's make a note: stay away from the fat ones," Louis stated firmly, wiping the bile from his person.

"And car alarms," Zoey added with a nervous smile.

With a pile of ammunition and first aid kits found in the room the Survivors hastily healed up, reloaded, and readied themselves for their next journey through the zombie-infested Subway of Fairfield...

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**A/N:** Well, after the big opening of the first chapter I decided to take the first part of No Mercy a little easy; as it usally is anyway. Of course, I decided to use that pesky car and the Boomer's bile to give a more exciting ending to the chapter. While most of the lines are from the game, some I've written myself. I hope they seem in character (though I think Francis' "Watch your ass!" line was a nice touch). I'm trying to focus on the relationships of the Survivors because you don't see enough of it in the game. I want to really flesh them out. Stay tuned for the next chapter: "NO MERCY: The Subway".


End file.
